1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to trailer modifications and more particularly pertains to apparatus that permit a second trailer to be pulled behind a first trailer in a tandem configuration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As people acquire more and more motorized recreational vehicles, it becomes more and more difficult to transport all of these recreational vehicles to a desired location to use them. This is especially true with recreational vehicles used in water sports, such as motor boats and personal watercraft. The use of both a boat and a personal watercraft by the same group of users is becoming more common, and this has often required the use of multiple vehicles so that a vehicle is available to tow each of the boat and personal watercraft.
The use of apparatus to modify a first trailer to be able to pull a second trailer behind the first trailer are generally known, and the apparatus illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,665 to Haddock is an illustration of one such device. While the apparatus illustrated in the patent to Haddock is functional for its intended purpose, it is believed that the Haddock apparatus does have some significant limitations. First, and probably foremost, the apparatus must be removed from the trailer to permit a boat to be loaded onto the trailer and also to permit the boat to be removed from the trailer, and then must be reattached thereafter to permit use of the apparatus for its purpose. Since the Haddock apparatus is relatively bulky, the removal and replacement of the apparatus at each boat loading and unloading can be difficult as well as time consuming. Secondly, the positioning of the hitch ball with respect to the trailer is relatively fixed in the Haddock apparatus, and thus the height of the hitch ball above the ground surface is thus dependent upon the position and orientation of the trailer. Thus, the Haddock apparatus must extend about the propeller and lower drive unit of the motor of the boat.
Thus, while the Haddock apparatus of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,665 is certainly functional and useful for its intended purpose, it is believed that the elimination of some of these functional and structural drawbacks would produce a more easily and conveniently used apparatus for pulling a second trailer behind a first trailer.